In Michael Jordan, the Charlotte Bobcats have the most recognizable, most basketball-accomplished owner in the league. He’s a Hall of Fame face to rally the franchise and its city.

In Larry Brown, they have yet another Hall of Famer, one of the most respected coaches in league history and the only one to have an NCAA and NBA championship to his name.

Unfortunately, their players aren’t in the same league. That part of the equation is going to take some time.

The Bobcats begin their seventh season this fall, trying to take a difficult next step after reaching the NBA playoffs last spring for the first time in franchise history.

For now, the team may have hit a wall, as it was unable to improve the roster during the offseason because of salary-cap restraints that could hinder Charlotte until next summer.

The Bobcats still have two outstanding players in veteran wingmen Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson. The supporting cast, though, remains suspect at best compared to the rest of the Southeast Division. So, the Bobcats will have to rely on Brown’s system and Jordan’s presence to make them better.

“Getting to the playoffs was an accomplishment, a great accomplishment,” said Wallace, the only player remaining from the original team seven years ago. “To think of where we started and where we are now, we’ve come a long way. But we have to make sure now (that) we don’t take any steps backward.”

Wallace is coming off his finest season and his first All-Star appearance. He averaged 18.2 points, a career-high 10 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals, which proved he could be a versatile and well-rounded forward.

Brown helped the Bobcats overachieve last season, turning them into one of the best defensive teams in the league and allowing the team to overcome a lack of offense. Charlotte allowed the fewest points in the NBA last season (93.8 per game), which was key since the team was 28th in scoring (95.3).

But the Bobcats go into this season with a huge question mark at point guard as Raymond Felton left in free agency for New York. They are banking on untested D.J. Augustin, who regressed last season as a backup to Felton, and newly acquired Shaun Livingston, whose career almost ended a few years ago with a gruesome knee injury.

The team also re-signed power forward Tyrus Thomas, hoping he can become a versatile presence around the basket. The Bobcats traded Tyson Chandler to Dallas for Erick Dampier, Matt Carroll and Eduardo Najera. Dampier was released, but Carroll and Najera will provide experience on the bench for a team in need of more depth.

An X-factor could be Jackson, who has become more than a sidekick to Wallace. Jackson, who arrived in a trade from Golden State last season, averaged 20.6 points and 5.1 rebounds and scored more than 20 points 21 times last season. While giving the Bobcats a legitimate late-game, go-to scorer, his arrival helped them reach the playoffs for the first time. At age 32, Jackson might not be part of their long-range plans, but he is the key to current success.

Sean Deveney’s take

After finally breaking through with a playoff berth for the first time in franchise history last season, the Bobcats appear poised to go backward this year. They let point guard Raymond Felton go in free agency and traded away Tyson Chandler for, essentially, nothing. The only shot at improvement comes from low-risk gambles like Darius Miles, Javaris Crittenton, Kwame Brown and Shaun Livingston. None of those players is likely to pan out into anything significant, and the era of Michael Jordan, Bobcats owner, is sure to get off to a slow start.

View from the other bench

“This is another team in flux. Getting (Eduardo) Najera will help them. He’s the prototype energy, hustle guy who will get under your skin, harass whomever he guards and he plays hard all the time. (I’m) not sure where he will fit with Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson. …

“With Felton gone, D.J. Augustin takes over at point. I thought he suffered through a sophomore jinx last season, but he should be better now. He’s their guy now. Wallace has developed into a dynamite player, an offensive rebounder who can really get after the ball. He’s a pain in the butt to guard because he’s a much-improved shooter. …

“One of the things you can say for sure is that Larry Brown will have them playing hard. He always does.”

Inside the numbers

12. Wins in the month of January for the Bobcats, a franchise record for victories in a month, topping the previous high of nine.

43.9. Difference in winning percentage for the Bobcats at home vs. on the road for the regular season, the largest in the league. The Bobcats won 75.6 percent of their home games, but just 31.7 percent of their road contests.

93.8. Points per game allowed by the Bobcats in 2009-10, best in the NBA.